Fort Worth Timex/Sinclair User Group
TS2068 Club Library Tape
(Sides A and B)

This archive contains a raw recording of both sides of a 90 minute tape for the Timex/Sinclair 2068 home computer that were recorded using a Radio Shack CTR-121 "shoebox-style" tape player.  Also included are scans of the tape, pictures of the two index cards that list the programs on the tape and screenshots from Audacity that show the audio files in two forms.

The WAV recordings of the tape have not been processed in any way.  I have not been able to load the data, which has not be digitally archived using TAP/TZX tools.  These RAW recordings are provided with the hope that the data can be rescued by a knowledgeable Timex/Sinclair fan.

More information about this tape is available in a thread called "T/S 2068 Library Tape Archiving Process" on groups.io, here:

https://groups.io/g/TS2068/topic/t_s_2068_library_tape/95124121

Some of this information is included here.

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On November 18, 2022, Ryan, a member of the TS2068 discussion group wrote:

"I would have picked up this copy [of the TS2068 Club Library Tape] at one of the Fort Worth Timex Sinclair User Group meetings [in the 1980s]. I think the tape was free to members. That is one of my cassettes but not my writing on it, so I must have had it dubbed at the meeting. I'll have to look at one of those newsletters to see if it's mentioned.

"I think it was an evolving tape where new stuff got loaded at the meeting and saved to the end, then that would get dubbed. I think Frank Bouldin was probably the program librarian but I'm not sure."

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The following posts were write by Adam (BallyAlley).

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I have successfully recorded both sides of the T/S 2068 Library Tape that Ryan Gray lent to me when I was at his house last night [on November 17, 2022].  It is a 90 minute tape.  I recorded all 45 minutes of each side [from a Radio Shack CTR-121 "shoebox-style tape player], but only the first 30 minutes of each side contain data.  The last 15 minutes of each side is blank.  I saved the recordings as raw WAV files; I have not tried to archive the audio data using any Timex or Sinclair TAP/TZX tools yet.

The recording size of each side of the tape is 231MB.  I have attached pictures of the tape and of the two index cards that list what is on both sides of it.  You'll notice that in the late 1980s, when Ryan made the index cards, he noted that some of these programs don't load properly.  Maybe some of them can be saved with archive tools. [...]

As I recorded this tape, I had to be very careful to make sure that no clipping occurred to the audio data.  I recorded the entire tape at one level, which hopefully would avoid clipping audio, while making it so that none of the audio was too low.  I wouldn't say that the audio level on the tape is all over the place, but it's not exactly contestant.

I'm going to try to load a program from the raw audio, but I doubt that it will work.  In fact, if I can load a program from this 35 year old tape without any archiving tools, then I'll be very surprised!

@Ryan - Could you please tell us a bit more about the origin of this T/S 2068 tape?  What was your user group in Texas called?  Who ran the PD library?  Was the tape free to members who paid dues?  When was it released?  Is it talked about in any of the club newsletters that you still own?

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For those who know a little bit about audio files, I've attached four screenshots that show both recordings of the T/S 2068 Library Tape that was lent to me by Ryan.  I show both sides of each tape in their raw, unaltered format.  One image shows all 45 minutes of data of each side (notice that the last 15 minutes are blank).  Then I zoom-in to the first 5 minutes of each side to give a better, though rough, idea of the quality of the data.

Thanks for lending me this tape, Ryan.  I hope that we can salvage some of the data on it.

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I have tried loading the first program from the side one of the tape.  It was a no-go.  I still had not listened to the audio and so, well, it was about time that I heard it for myself.  The first program is introduced with a voice.  It's BADLY distorted, which doesn't bode well for the digital data on the tape.  The voice says, with LOTS of noise, something like "Digitclock.  Submitted by [muffled]."  I THINK that after that the program is spelled out letter by letter.  Then the program starts.  I can't load it yet.

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I have attached the 14 second voice introduction to the "DigitClock" program as an MP3 file.  It's VERY distorted and extremely noisy.  I'm not sure if I'll be able to even use archive tools to get the data from this tape, but I'm going to try it.

The way this tape is put together is a little surprising to me.  I figured that there would be a few seconds between each program, you know, so that you could find the 36 (!) different programs on the first side of the tape, but it wasn't compiled in this manner.  Instead, each program ends abruptly and then is followed very closely by another voice introduction.

The voice narration sounds like it is from a creepy movie, doesn't it?  I almost expect it to say, "Don't turn around."  Or, even worse, "Don't look behind you, Adam."

I'm so glad that we have digital "tapes" now.  I love using WAV and TAP files as a modern tape substitute.  It's not fast, but it is reliable.

@Ryan - Do you recognize the voice on the tape?

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If you manage to digitally archive this tape, or just some of the programs on it, then please leave feedback about it in the comment area.

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